Chapter 22 #3
“Good.” She glanced into the cave, then away. “We let everyone back at the homestead know what’s going on. Declan was getting worried.”
“I bet he was. None of us planned to be away this long,” Kayden said.
“Yeah, if we had, we would’ve brought more food,” Cassidy said, all serious.
I frowned. How can she be thinking about food? Then again, maybe Cassidy was just trying not to fall apart. She and her brothers had been through so much in the last couple of weeks, it was a wonder any of them could think straight.
The sun had dropped behind the ridge by the time the Callahan brothers finished their work. They packed up their equipment, preparing to leave.
Levi pushed off the cave wall. “Time for me to fire up the chopper. Good meeting you both. I reckon I’ll be seeing you again.” He shook my hand and Kayden’s. “Take it easy.” He strode away, taking a wide berth around the bloody stain on the cave floor.
Jaxson went over logistics, next steps, and timelines with me. It was all necessary, all professional.
Aria pocketed her phone. “We’ll find Bob, Sapphire. I promise you.”
“Thank you.”
Jaxson and Parker said their goodbyes with promises to be in touch, then walked to the helicopter, where Levi already had the rotors spinning.
Aria approached me with the wooden Chivas box under her arm. Her expression was apologetic, and I braced for what I knew was coming. “Sapphire, I’m sorry, but I need to take your badge and weapon.”
The words hit harder than they should have. I’d known this was necessary, but hearing it spoken aloud made it real and rotten.
“Bob Ackerman was your superior,” she continued, her voice gentle. “He tried to kill you. Internal Affairs will investigate. Every case you worked together will be scrutinized. It’s standard protocol with corruption of this magnitude.”
“I understand,” I said, and I did. But understanding didn’t make it hurt less.
“This isn’t a reflection on you,” Aria said, meeting my eyes. “I want you to know that. I’ve read your file and looked at your case history. You’re a good cop, Sapphire. But this is not negotiable.”
I reached into my backpack and removed my badge, the weight feeling heavier than it ever had. How many victims had I helped? How many cases had I closed?
How many of those cases would now be called into question because of Bob’s corruption?
I set the badge in Aria’s hand. Then my weapon.
She took them and placed them in an evidence bag. “I have no doubt I’ll be getting these back to you—hopefully, very soon.”
The confidence in her voice didn’t reach the hollow space in my chest.
Aria rested her hand on my shoulder. “You’ll be hearing from me.” Then she walked toward their chopper.
As the distance between us grew, so did the hole in my chest. Everything I’d worked for was gone.
The stain of Bob Ackerman’s corruption would taint everything I’d ever done.
Kayden appeared at my side, and his hand found mine. “You okay?”
“No,” I said, desperately trying to stop my chin from quivering. “No, I’m not.”
“Oh, Fire.” He pulled me to his chest, and as he wrapped his arms around me, every emotion hit me at once.
The first sob came out of me before I could stop it. Ugly. Loud. I hated that sound. I’d spent years training myself not to make it. Years of being the cop, the steady one, the one who held her shit together in a crisis.
I tried to stop, but couldn’t. The tears kept coming, and I hated every one of them.
Kayden held me tighter. Said nothing.
When I couldn’t cry anymore, I sucked in a few shaky breaths and eased away from him. Mitch and Cassidy had formed a small circle around me.
“Sorry,” I said, wiping my eyes.
“Don’t be sorry. Taking your badge is pure crap. You did nothing wrong,” Mitch said.
I pressed my lips together, trying to convince myself I’d done nothing wrong. But maybe I had. Maybe I’d been so blind to so many things that I’d missed dozens of signs. That would make me as guilty as Bob.
“So,” Cassidy said, frowning and grinning at the same time, “you didn’t tell them we hid that money?”
“No, because you’d have been arrested for messing with a crime scene.”
“See?” Kayden said, slotting our hands together. “I told you, you could trust her.”
“We know that.” Cassidy rolled her eyes.
“Thanks, Sapphire,” Mitch said. “Guess we owe you an apology.”
“What for?” I frowned.
“Putting you in that situation.”
“You didn’t. Bob and Frank did,” I said. I looked down at my hip where my badge was often clipped—the badge that had defined me for so long.
I’d never felt so lost in my life.
But I wasn’t alone. Kayden’s hand was warm in mine, and his family was standing beside me. For the first time in years, I wasn’t defined by a badge, a title, or a duty.
I was just Sapphire Delaney.
Devastated, yes. Uncertain, absolutely.
But not broken.
Not completely anyway.
I scanned the dry red landscape beyond the cave. Somewhere out there, Bob Ackerman was running, trying to escape the consequences of decades of corruption.
Somewhere inside me, beneath the grief, the anger, and the loss, my resolve hardened.
This wasn’t over.
Not until that bastard was behind bars.
Or dead.